The H. Roy Brahana Prize, Department of Mathematics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The H. Roy Brahana Prize

H. Roy Brahana was born in Lowell, Vermont in 1895. He received his bachelor's degree at Dartmouth College in 1916 and a Masters degree from Princeton in 1917. After a year and a half of service in the U. S. Army in World War I, he got his Ph.D. at Princeton University in 1920, writing his thesis in the emerging field of topology under the direction of Oswald Veblen. He joined the mathematics department of the University of Illinois immediately after getting his Ph.D. and remained on the staff until his retirement in 1963. At Illinois his interests turned to the theory of finite metabelian groups and related geometrical structures, and he supervised many Ph.D theses in that area. He served as acting head of the department of mathematics during the academic years 1947-1948 and 1954-1955. He served as editor of the works of G. A. Miller Professor Brahana was a very popular teacher and generously gave of his time to students at all levels. He and his wife were friendly people and helped create a warm atmosphere in which new faculty could flourish.